Japanese tableware and kitchenware trading company, Imoto Sangyo Ltd.「history」page

In 1897, Tamesaburo Imoto, the founder of the company, established Imoto Shoten Co., the predecessor of Imoto Sangyo Ltd.
Imoto Shoten Co. began as a processor of finished ceramics, purchasing the raw materials, painting, firing, and exporting the finished products, but gradually expanded its sales channels and grew to establish branches and sub-branches in San Francisco, New York, and other parts of Asia.

The house built by Tamesaburo Imoto in the late Taisho and early Showa periods is now open to the public under the name “ Cultural Path Shumokukan “ as a building that conveys the history and culture of the early Showa period. It was designated as a Tangible Cultural Asset of Nagoya City in 1996, and a Building of Scenic Importance in March 2008.

While the finished ceramics processing industry was declining due to the changing times, the company began to focus on the trading business based on its accumulated know-how in the trading business, and in 1967, the trading division was spun off as an independent company.
In 1983, the head office building was constructed, and the company continued to grow with the import/export business as its mainstay, beginning with the strengthening of the import business and domestic sales after the Plaza Accord in 1985.

As time moved into the Heisei era, the environment surrounding our company changed dramatically with the bankruptcy of our main bank and the outbreak of the Asian currency crisis.
Despite these difficult circumstances, our employees worked together to overcome these hardships by developing our business around our import business, and in 1997, we celebrated the 100th anniversary of our founding.

In 2017, the 120th anniversary of the company’s founding, we launched an export business using cross-border EC with the aim of further expanding our export business. In addition to traditional tableware and kitchenware, we are aggressively expanding our export business sales channels by handling a wide variety of high-quality Japanese products, such as agricultural tools, industrial tools, and sundries.
We will continue to provide extensive support for our customers’ export and import businesses with our trading know-how cultivated over many years, and our flexible and challenging business development in line with the times.